Latest news with #HeleneMartinssonWallin
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Make Groundbreaking Easter Island Discovery
Groundbreaking research undertaken by Uppsala University and published in the journal Antiquity (via Ancient Origins) has rewritten previously held beliefs about the remote society of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island. Rapa Nui has long been seen as the epitome of a remote community, with historical records indicating that it developed in isolation without other Polynesian communities after it was established in 1200 A.D. However, the new research has found that Rapa Nui was influential in the development of other East Polynesian cultures and influenced the passing of some ceremonial ideals across the Pacific. Using radiocarbon dating, experts in Pacific archaeology Paul Wallin and Helene Martinsson-Wallin found that marae temple structures—intricate rectangular clearings which were used for community ceremonies—originated on Rapa Nui rather than on one of the connected islands, as was previously believed. 'The most important finding is that, based on C-14 dating, we can observe an initial west-to-east spread of ritual ideas," Wallin explained. "However, the complex, unified ritual spaces (known as marae) show earlier dates in the east."The results show that the Polynesian islands were far more interconnected and sophisticated than previously thought. It is believed that since ceremonial practices made their way from Rapa Nui to other Pacific settlements indicates a high level of maritime activity operating in the Polynesian islands, which pushes against any ideas of isolationism. "The migration process from West Polynesian core areas such as Tonga and Samoa to East Polynesia is not disputed here," the study reads. "Still, the static west-to-east colonization and dispersal suggested for East Polynesia and the idea that Rapa Nui was only colonized once in the past and developed in isolation is challenged." The study has largely reconceived how history views Rapa Nui and the Polynesian islands, and challenges commonly accepted ideas about the movement and development of ritual temple sites in East Polynesia," according to Wallen. 'The findings suggest a more complex pattern than previously thought. Initially, it has been shown that ritual ideas spread from west to east. Later, more elaborate temple structures developed on Easter Island, which then influenced other parts of East Polynesia in an east-to-west movement."Archaeologists Make Groundbreaking Easter Island Discovery first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 9, 2025
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A New Study Has Upended One of Easter Island's Greatest Myths
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: A new study suggests that the island of Rapa Nui, otherwise known as Easter Island, didn't develop in the extreme manner of isolation that we thought. By comparing archeological data and radiocarbon dating, professors from Uppsala University were able to break down the development of ritual practices throughout Rapa Nui and the rest of East Polynesia into three distinct phases. These phases suggested a greater interconnected network between the islands than had been previously identified, and challenges the idea that the transfer of cultural developments occurred only in a west-to-east pattern, and only at a singular time. For centuries, the hundreds of mysterious monuments on the small island of Rapa Nui—including the iconic monolithic statues known as the moai—have offered a glimpse into a past we still don't fully understand. While researchers generally agree that Polynesians first settled the island by migrating from west to east, a new study suggests that what happened next may not have been as isolated as once thought. As notes, it's hard to believe these islands all developed independently after the initial wave of eastward expansion—especially given the striking similarities in their monuments and the evidence of shared ritual practices. To determine how, exactly, these similar practices came to be, Paul Wallin and Helene Martinsson-Wallin of Uppsala University analyzed and compared radiocarbon dating and archaeological data from ritual spaces and other monument sites throughout East Polynesia. Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the Issue Get the IssueGet the Issue Get the Issue Their findings, published by Cambridge University Press, categorize the development of ritual practices in East Polynesia into three distinct periods of activity that challenge the traditional view of a one-time, west-to-east colonization and the idea that Rapa Nui developed in complete isolation. The first phase, which the scientists say occurred between 1000–1300 A.D., stems from that initial west-to-east expansion. In this period, they summarize, 'we see that ritual space is expressed through actions, such as burials and feasting, and these spaces are marked by a stone upright.' As each new area was settled, they demonstrated similarities in 'structure and organisation of settlement, ritual space and language-use.' But, crucially, Wallin and Martinsson-Wallin found that 'during the initial settlement expansion, interaction networks were established in East Polynesia that in many cases maintained continuous contact with their homeland population.' In the second phase, dated approximately 1300–1600 A.D., 'ritual actions materialised into clearly visible and more complex ahu/marae structures.' Wallin and Martinsson-Wallin suggest this evolution in ritual practices was done with an eye toward memorializing not just various deities, but lost loved ones as well. 'Ideas surrounding the materialisation of ideology expanded through established networks in the south-eastern Pacific, from the Pitcairn Islands in the east to the Society Islands,' they note. 'Genetic studies also indicate contact between the Central Pacific area and Rapa Nui in the fourteenth century.' That means that, during these initial two phases, Rapa Nui had contact with others 'at least twice,' and that 'connections to islands west of Rapa Nui are apparent.' The third phase is where the interconnectedness of these islands apparently diminished in favor of 'internal vertical hierarchies' and the power struggles therein. The scientists note that while these internal hierarchies had already begun to manifest in some islands in the second phase (placing Rapa Nui's hierarchical expressions emerging around 1350–1450 A.D.), in this phase, hierarchies 'developed independently and rapidly in large fertile island groups such as the Society Islands, c. 1600–1767, and Hawai'i, c. AD 1580–1640.' In this phase, island ritual sites expanded into megalithic structures, as local power expanded throughout the individual islands. 'While a shared ideology spread between islands with initial settlers,' the study authors conclude, 'the development of ritual places was affected by external input in the second phase, and in the third they materialised into highly visible, monumental ritual places of stone due to social hierarchisation in local settings.' Get the Guide Get the Guide Get the Guide Get the Guide Get the Guide Get the Guide Get the Guide You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
